


We are gathered together here

by queen_ypolita



Category: Purposes of Love - Mary Renault
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 19:52:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1720553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_ypolita/pseuds/queen_ypolita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At his wedding, Mic cannot quite believe anything good could come out of the marriage</p>
            </blockquote>





	We are gathered together here

**Author's Note:**

> Quotations in italics are from _The Book of Common Prayer_ , The Form of Solemnization of Marriage, 1928. 
> 
> This was written for the marriage square on my trope_bingo card.

They were married in the parish church of Vivian's father, with Vivian's father and aunt as witnesses, an extremely quiet affair on a Thursday morning. That was how Vivian had wanted it, no fuss, no flowers, ordinary Sunday clothes. Mic had agreed to her plans easily enough: no guests meant there were no questions about his family not being present, and Vivian's father had acquiesced to whatever she wanted. 

The vicar was middle-aged, tall and gaunt, and Mic gathered he was relatively new to the parish, didn't know Vivian's family well and hadn't ever met Vivian before posting of the banns. When the vicar stood up straight and cleared his throat to start the service: " _Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here..._ " he seemed very impersonal and distant, not quite present in the here and now.

Mic let his thoughts wander. The words at the start of the service were familiar enough even if he hadn't been to many weddings, and the vicar's voice was so even and practiced that the words flowed smoothly, familiar and empty. 

Something about the vicar's voice changed—perhaps he had noticed that Mic wasn't listening, and Mic made an effort to tune back in—" _is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God_ ", the vicar went on. Mic wondered if any of the words applied to this wedding. He wouldn't say they were getting married lightly, but perhaps the context was too sombre, Jan's death, their rows, the pregnancy. With the small wedding, they were achieving discreetly, but that seemed to be all. In his heart, he didn't think this marriage was the best thing for them, but right now it seemed the only option. The fear of God didn't enter into it at all, since he was an atheist and although he wasn't certain of Vivian's views, she wasn't much better. 

The vicar, in the meantime, had moved on to " _if either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together_ " and it occurred to Mic to wonder if having been the lover of the wife-to-be's brother made his relationship with Vivian meet the forbidden degrees of closeness for which one would have needed a special dispensation in the old days. It felt like it should have been, but perhaps it was considered so wrong that it hadn't needed to be considered. The whole thought was so absurd he wanted to laugh, but that would certainly have been wrong for the occasion.

The vicar droned on, " _Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her_ ", and Mic forced himself to listen properly so he wouldn't miss the moment when he needed to answer. It was such a strange question in some ways. Could anybody actually will himself to love, comfort and honour another person for the rest of his life? Having looked Vivian in the eye and given his reply in a steady voice, he felt he had been lying. He loved Vivian, but he didn't know how long it would last, or how long he would want it to last. Was that marriage, keeping up the fiction of loving and honouring one's spouse long past the time those feeling were true? 

He tried to focus on the vicar's words again, but " _may ever remain in perfect love and peace together_ " seemed far more hopeful than what his thoughts just now had been—too hopeful. But this was it: he was married, committed to Vivian, and no matter what the future would bring, he would try his hardest to make sure it was good.


End file.
